SUPER BOWL;Most Black Players Find Switzer Easy to Relate To

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When Barry Switzer became the Dallas Cowboys' coach two years ago, he began to meet with the players left over from the Jimmy Johnson era. Safety Darren Woodson had heard about this swaggering coach from the University of Oklahoma and he was cautious, to say the least.

But Woodson was caught off guard by how comfortable he felt with Switzer. Now, Woodson knows exactly why he likes Switzer so much.

And he is not alone. Many -- if not all -- of the black players for the Cowboys think that Switzer relates well to them. Some say he relates better to them than any other coach they have had. And some black players say this harmony is one of the big reasons the Cowboys were able to endure a rough season and get back to the Super Bowl.

"There is no question about it, he can relate well to black athletes," said Woodson, who is black. When asked why, he responded:

"He's down to earth. There's no ego involved. He's not selfish. It's almost like he knows exactly how we feel about the organization. I think black guys have always been looked down upon as far as the organization is concerned. He understands that and he reaches out."

What Woodson meant regarding the organization's attitude toward black players possibly referred to what happened in the 1993 season, when running back Emmitt Smith had a bitter contract dispute with Jerry Jones, the owner, and missed the season's first two games.

It was no secret then that several black Dallas players were angry that Smith, the heart of the team, was forced to go through an ordeal they did not think quarterback Troy Aikman, for example, would be subjected to. Aikman is white.

While it is not clear how black players feel about Jones now, there is no debate about how most feel about Switzer.

"The majority of black players on the team do think he is easy to relate to and maybe easier to relate to than other coaches they have had," said wide receiver Kevin Williams, who is black. "He's real comfortable to talk to. I don't know exactly why that is. There is something about him that makes you feel comfortable. You can talk to him about anything. Not to mention that Coach Switzer has been through a lot himself. He went through stuff the average person couldn't deal with.

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"I think it's fair to say that a lot of black athletes in the pros grew up hard and went through a lot of tough times. And I think since everyone knows that Coach Switzer went through a lot. They can identify with that."

The question of whether black players relate to him better than to other coaches is delicate because it implies that black players are significantly different from white players.

But black players seem to relate better to Switzer than, say, even to Johnson during the team's two Super Bowl championships. When Switzer said earlier this month that 90 percent of the Dallas players would rather play for him than any other coach they have ever had, he was probably right. "I've always tried to treat people right," Switzer said today. "That's the bottom line."

Switzer's reputation for treating black players fairly goes back to Oklahoma, where he was the school's first coach to start a black quarterback. And his players are aware that he grew up poor amid the kind of rough spots -- his mother committed suicide when he was in high school -- that many players from difficult backgrounds can relate to.

Or is it more than that? Both black and white players might like Switzer simply because he allows them more freedom. Defensive end Charles Haley, for example, says that he does not need to practice this week to play in the Super Bowl while he is recuperating from back surgery. Few coaches would let a player get away with such a comment.

Switzer also makes sure that he credits his players publicly. He says that players win games, not coaches. That is a far cry from the control-freak nature of many National Football League coaches.

"I don't know if it's a black or white thing as much as it is that that's the kind of player's coach he is," said the backup quarterback, Jason Garrett, who is white. "If a player is late for a meeting, instead of making a huge deal out of a fining situation, he'll just take care of it behind closed doors instead of publicly embarrassing the guy."

A version of this article appears in print on January 25, 1996, on Page B00009 of the National edition with the headline: SUPER BOWL;Most Black Players Find Switzer Easy to Relate To. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe